Accused granted
holiday bail variation

One of the men charged in relation with the murder of a man in Clonoe has been granted a bail variation allowing him to go on holiday to Lithuania.

“The High Court has previously granted a similar request... and I will anticipate their judgement... despite the very real concerns of police,” District Judge John Meehan told East Tyrone Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Eimantas Lumsys, 28, from Glenmont Park in Dungannon, stands accused of withholding information concerning the murder and grievous bodily harm on October 14th last year.

The body of the 32-year-old Gediminas Stauskas was found in a garage on the Moor Road late last year.

Outlining his objections to the bail variation, a detective sergeant from the PSNI said, “He will not be monitored in Lithuania. We have been in contact with police there... and it is just not feasible. This would be the first time they would have done it.

“The defendant may seek to flee the jurisdiction. He has stated his fear of being attacked by criminal elements.”

Mr Ruairi Maguire, defending, stated, “He has no previous convictions. Each year he takes his four-year-old daughter to Lithuania.

“He is a homeowner with a mortgage and works full time. I would submit that the fear or risk of flight is at the lower end of the scale.

“In his statement to police he outlines how he was badly assaulted (during the incident).”